


Nooks and Crannies

by colazitron



Series: 2018 December Holiday Fic Countdown [18]
Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, House Hunting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-23 03:04:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17072300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colazitron/pseuds/colazitron
Summary: Isak and Even are looking for a new flat.





	Nooks and Crannies

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I am in no way affiliated with the characters depicted herein or their creators. I made all of this up. I am sharing it for fun.
> 
>  **A/N:** for anon who wanted a glimpse at Isak and Even in their (early) 20s - this is more mid- to late 20s, I'm really sorry! I hope you like it anyway. :)

They've lived in that shoebox of a flat for longer than they really needed to. For a long while it was genuinely all they could afford, and once Even started working full-time it took a while for Isak to not feel like he was taking advantage. Like he had nothing to contribute, or had to compensate for the lack of financial contribution in some other way. To stop worrying that maybe Even would get sick of it and by extension, sick of him.

He never thought, before that, that money would ever become a point of contention for them, but life is full of surprise like that.

It was odd, not being at the same point in life, Isak still busy with his classes and his Saturday job while Even started getting by-lines in various magazines and newspapers. His blog saw a noticeable uptick of traffic too, once people started connecting _The Theatre Organ_ with the guy who started popping up in various film and music columns. And so suddenly Even had money. Not absurd amounts of it, but noticeably more than either of them had ever had before, and equally noticeably more than Isak had. They got past it eventually, learned how to be partners on somewhat unequal footing without feeling unequal in their partnership.

Now though, they've both been working full time for a year and moving out has only been postponed because every talk about the future devolved into _every_ talk about the future. Do they want to invest in a bigger flat right away? How long do they want to keep renting? Are they staying in the centre or moving further out? Are they going to get married? What about pets? Children?

Moving in together came with a lot less questions than moving together does, but eventually they figure those out too.

So now Isak has a metaphorical ring in his equally metaphorical pocket (it's a watch and it's back at home) and they're looking at flats together. It's strange, the way you grow into a new person without realising when you grow up. Isak didn't realise he was a person with opinions on kitchen countertops and flooring and the placement of power outlets and light switches. But he really, really is.

“Why are we doing this the week before Christmas? Remind me,” Isak says, tugging the scarf loose from around his neck as they hop onto the tram.

“Because it just got listed and you loved the kitchen and I loved the floors,” Even says, his grin making his eyes twinkle even in the harsh light on the tram.

Isak sighs dramatically.

“Who have we become? Why are we people with opinions on interior decorating?”

Even laughs quietly and shrugs a little shrug as he pulls off his beanie hat.

“We're old and boring now, baby. Before you know it we'll be married and stop having sex and all our conversations will be about you not taking out the trash and me forgetting the laundry in the machine.”

“All our conversations are already about that,” Isak teases. “And, damn, if getting married means we stop having sex, then maybe we shouldn't do it after all.”

“You like sex more than making sure I'm taken care of legally as your spouse? Hurtful,” Even says, grinning proudly when it makes Isak laugh.

Isak leans in for a kiss, just chaste enough so they don't scandalise anyone on public transport, and then whispers into the small space between them when he pulls back.

“You'd miss it too.”

“Of course I would,” Even agrees easily, and takes another kiss from Isak's lips, putting his hand on Isak’s waist over his coat to hold him close. “Who wouldn’t miss all this?”

Isak snorts a laugh.

“You can’t flatter your way out of this.”

In response, Even nods his head side to side consideringly and hums a little.

“We’ll see.”

Isak bumps Even’s leg with his knee, but doesn’t bother protesting further.

They spend the rest of the tram ride and the short walk to their destination chit-chatting about their respective days; the album review Even’s writing for an online music magazine, and Isak’s students attention span suffering a pre-Christmas lull. From there they move on to Even’s parents’ invitation to spend Christmas Eve with them and Isak’s mother’s travel plans. She’s gotten fond of spending Christmas elsewhere over the last few years, and Isak is always glad she’s found a thing to bring her joy.

The realtor greets them with a sunny smile, her smart coat coupled perfectly with her gloves and scarf.

“Hello,” she greets them. “I’m Lisa. I believe I spoke to one of you on the phone?”

“That would be me,” Even says and takes her hand when she holds it out. “Even. And this is my partner.”

“Isak,” Isak offers, and gives her hand a quick shake as well.

“Wonderful,” Lisa smiles. “Shall we go inside where it’s warm?”

Even nods and makes a gesture for her to lead the way, linking his fingers with Isak’s as they follow her.

The flat is on the second floor, and the building has a lift too. It’s quite a big one, even. Big enough that they might get some of their furniture up that way.

Even catches Isak eye the dimensions of the lift critically and grins, waggling his eyebrows when Isak rolls his eyes at him. Just because he’s thinking ahead doesn’t mean he’s already made a decision. This is only the third place they’re seeing after the two viewings back in November. They got busy then and decided to pick it back up in the new year, when this had popped up on one of the websites they liked to browse occasionally.

Lisa unlocks the door and leads them inside. The lights are already on, and it is a bit warmer, like they’re keeping it heated a little even though it’s completely empty now.

“As you can see, the floors have recently been redone,” Lisa explains. Isak would not actually have been able to tell, but he dutifully looks at the floor. It’s a pretty, dark wood, and when he looks up and at Even, his eyes are practically shining. Even’s got a thing for dark wooden floors.

The kitchen is exactly as roomy as it had looked in the photos, and there’s this perfect little breakfast nook by the windows. Even links their fingers again, tugging him over to it. In passing, Isak runs his fingers over the countertop. The thing that jumped out to Isak in the photos was how high they seemed to be. Possibly they wouldn’t have to hunch over quite so much with these. He’d like it better without all the overhead cabinets, but it does make sense as a space-saving storage option, and he’s made his peace with them.

Even sits down on one side of the small table in the breakfast nook, and gestures to Isak to take the other.

Lisa watches them delightedly, probably crossing her fingers behind her back that they’ll like it.

“The kitchen faces east, so you get lovely morning sunlight in here,” she says.

Isak meets Even’s eyes and sighs fondly at him.

“You love it too,” Even says, a little accusatory.

Isak laughs.

“Yeah, I do,” he says and then turns back to Lisa. “What about the other rooms?”

The other rooms are lovely. There’s enough space in the dining/living room to cordon off an area for them to use as office space, and the bedroom and bathroom are both lovely. Isak can tell Even’s just as excited about this flat as he is, and he’s pretty sure that Lisa can tell as well.

“I don’t have another showing booked before Christmas yet,” she tells them while she hands them a folder with all the information on the flat and where to contact her, “but I can’t promise something won’t come up before the new year. This area’s really in demand right now.”

Isak knows she’s trying to get them to commit to it, but he also knows she’s not lying.

“We’ll be in touch,” he promises.

Lisa smiles at them and walks them out, turning off the lights before she locks up and wishes them a good night.

Even is quiet for the walk back to the tram and Isak lets his own thoughts wander in the silence too.

It really is a beautiful, beautiful flat, and it’s not even too pricey. It’s towards the upper end of their agreed price range, but it’s definitely within budget. They can do this. If they want this flat, they can afford it.

There’s just something about the way it came up so suddenly, everything working out a little too perfectly for Isak to fully trust it.

“I love it,” Even says when they sit down on the tram, linked hands coming to rest on his thigh. He rubs his thumb over the back of Isak’s hand and Isak sighs.

“I love it too,” he says. “It feels too good to be true.”

Even gives his hand a squeeze.

“We’ll go through the paperwork she gave us tomorrow and see if we can find any loopholes, but if not… I think we should take it.”

Isak nods along slowly.

“Yeah,” he agrees and looks over to smile at Even. “Yeah, I think so too.”

Even leans in until their foreheads touch and breathes a happy sigh.

“Just imagine having breakfast by that window.”

“Don’t,” Isak whines. “It’s too nice. It probably gets really hot in the summer or something. There has to be something wrong with it.”

Even laughs quietly and then kisses him.

“I think we just got lucky, baby.”

Isak hums a little and kisses Even back, a few chaste pecks on the mouth before he rubs their noses together and leans back to look at him again.

Lucky, yeah. That he can agree with.

 

**The End**


End file.
